Curry cooks presented with certificates by Corby's Mayor

Students from Years 7, 8 and 9 were presented with certificates by Corby's new Mayor after taking part in a curry boot camp. The event, which was run over five consecutive days, was organised by Mr Mohammed Rahman from Bombay Dynasty restaurant to mark its 25th anniversary. Mr Rahman, who has recently been appointed Mayor, invited local secondary students to learn cookery, serving and napkin-folding skills and they were even initiated in the secret code of curry order taking!

Mr Rahman and his front of house staff, Amin Kadir, Mohammed Mozlu and Alam Khan, taught the students skills that they put into practice when preparing food, hosting and serving 30 VIP guests on the final day of the boot camp. The whole event was filmed and Chris Evans even mentioned it on his Radio 2 breakfast show!

William Snaith from Year 9 said 'It was interesting as we learned to make curry in a professional environment and it helped with my catering coursework' while Neve Saunders added 'I really enjoyed the curry boot camp and learned many skills from it.'

Food technology teacher Miss Letchet attended four of the five sessions and was very impressed: ‘It was really good. All the schools all joined together quite well and the students bonded over the week and became friends.’

At the certificate presentation during assembly, Mr Rahman said: 'The students were well disciplined, keen and passionate to learn. They were really brilliant and it has built their confidence and experience in this industry.'

Mr Ian McGregor, who helped to organise the event said: 'All the students were absolutely engaged with what they were doing; everyone was concentrated, focused and a credit to their respective schools.'

Principal Trish Stringer thanked Mr Rahman, acknowledging the crucial role that businesses play in giving students real life experience: 'This was a fantastic opportunity, absolutely relevant to these young students in the courses they have taken and I appreciate how difficult and challenging it can be for businesses to trust young people in their establishments. Without the support of people like you to show and demonstrate to our students what the real world is all about, their lives would be much duller.'